The international law firm BEITEN BURKHARDT has advised ING DiBa on the acquisition of the Berlin online credit market place Lendico. The takeover is still subject to approval by the antitrust authorities and the parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction volume.
Allen & Overy has advised ABN AMRO Bank N.V. on the acquisition by BGL BNP Paribas of all the outstanding shares in ABN AMRO Bank (Luxembourg) S.A. and its fully owned subsidiary ABN AMRO Life S.A.
ABN AMRO is the third largest bank in the Netherlands and serves retail, private and corporate banking clients with a focus on the Dutch market and selective international markets.
Burges Salmon has advised the UK and US senior management team of Hydro International on its acquisition by pan-European private equity firm Agilitas.
Burges Salmon’s corporate team has advised the UK and US senior management team of Hydro International on its acquisition by pan-European private equity firm Agilitas, with financing provided by EQT Credit, a Swedish private equity group, and Lloyds Bank.
Eversheds Sutherland has advised longstanding client Network Rail on the transfer of a significant number of strategically important Carillion contracts to Amey Rail following Carillion’s collapse. The arrangement will safeguard over 700 Carillion jobs and provide security for other companies involved in the rail industry.
The transfer of the high-profile contracts, including the Midland Mainline Upgrade and North West Electrification Programme, was carried out over two weeks with the Eversheds Sutherland team meeting particularly challenging timescales.
On 14 February ESSO and EG Group, a company owned by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, business partner of ESSO in Europe, completed the sale and purchase of the fuel distribution business in Italy, consisting of 1,175 retail branded service stations; the transaction includes a long-term supply and trademark licence agreement for the ESSO fuel brand.
Stephenson Harwood (Singapore) Alliance has advised Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd (ST Aerospace) on its agreement to divest a 5% equity stake in ST Aerospace (Guangzhou) Aviation Services Company Limited (STA Guangzhou), a joint venture with Guangdong Airport Authority, to Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.
Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW“) has advised Oslo-based MPC Container Ships ASA (“MPCC“) on the acquisition of the container ship fleet of South Korea’s Cido Shipping Group.
MPCC has acquired Cido’s entire container ship fleet comprising ten vessels for US$130m. Following the signing of the sale and purchase agreements for the takeover of the fleet in late 2017, the majority of the vessels have been delivered to MPCC.
Spanish company Parques Reunidos Servicios Centrales S.A has acquired the Belantis leisure park, which is located near Leipzig. The group is acquiring all the shares in the operating company, EVENT PARK GmbH, plus an additional 27-hectare site to extend the park. The parties agreed not to disclose details of the purchase price.
A CMS team headed by lead partner and M&A lawyer Dr Jörg Lips advised the sellers on all legal aspects of the transaction.
Alpha Industrial Holding SA and other vendors have sold a portfolio of logistics properties to Frasers Property Investments. The transaction is worth a total of around EUR 600 million.
The Singapore-based investor is acquiring 16 existing properties in Germany and Austria with a gross rental area of approximately 394,000 square metres, plus 6 development projects comprising 162,500 square metres of rental space. Project development and asset management subsidiary Alpha Industrial GmbH & Co. KG was also sold to Frasers Property Investments.
CMS has advised Czech investment fund, PPF Group on the acquisition of Bulgarian media company, Nova Broadcasting Group (‘Nova’), 95% in the company was bought from Modern Times Group (‘MTG’) and the remaining 5% from Eastern European Media Holdings S.A..
Nova is Bulgaria’s largest commercial media group and is comprised of 7 TV channels and 19 online businesses. It employs 650 people in Bulgaria and currently controls a 33% commercial share of viewing.